The present invention relates to cellular telephone systems. Further, the invention relates to vehicular audio systems. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a vehicular audio system that integrates a cellular telephone.
Mobile cellular telephones have become ubiquitous in present day society. Generally, these mobile cellular telephones can be held in the hand and include a key pad with ten numerical keys and one or more function keys for initiating transmission and receipt of incoming and outgoing telephone calls. When making a cellular telephone call, it is necessary to enter the desired telephone number or press a key sequence to recall the desired telephone number from a memory directory, and press a "send" key. In the interest of weight and convenience, the size of cellular telephones have been reduced during the last few years. For example, the cellular telephone manufactured by Sony under the identification number CM-RX100, measures 31/2".times.23/8".times.11/8" and weighs only a few ounces. Due to their small size, low weight and recent use of satellite relay stations, cellular telephones can be used virtually anywhere in the world.
Increasing numbers of automotive vehicles are being equipped with mobile communication devices such as cellular telephones. These have expanded from the original radios installed in police, fire department and taxi vehicles to a large percentage of all vehicles on the road today. These systems are, generally, not encompassed entirely in the user's hand but incorporate the power system of the vehicle and include an antenna mounted to the exterior of the vehicle. Though these system are mobile, due to their dependence on the power and antenna systems of the vehicle, they are confined to the mobility of the vehicle and cannot be removed from the vehicle.
In order to take advantage of the benefits of both the pedestrian hand-held cellular telephone and the vehicular cellular telephone, new systems have been developed which permit the hand-held pedestrian model to be detachably mounted into a vehicle. These mounting apparatus typically include engagement and releasing devices and electrically conductive terminals for communicating power and radio signals or the like between the vehicle and the cellular mobile telephone. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,838 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,147 disclose mobile cellular telephones incorporated into a vehicle's steering wheel assembly. Each reference discloses that the cellular telephone may be removed for pedestrian use. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,343 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,862 disclose cellular telephones detachably mounted to the dashboard of a vehicle.
None of the above referenced cellular telephone systems take advantage of the audio and control systems already found in an automotive vehicle. Nearly every vehicle is equipped with an audio system, such as a radio, cassette player, CD player, and combinations thereof. These audio systems include a number of elements found in a cellular telephone such as a power system, volume control, and a set of one or more speakers which generally, due to less size constraints, are of higher quality than found in a cellular telephone. Thus, it would be desirable to integrate a cellular telephone to a vehicular audio system in order to share components and to thereby eliminate duplication and reduce costs and complexity of the overall system. To this end, U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,640 discloses a cellular telephone that has been physically integrated into the vehicular audio system.
This reference does not disclose a cellular telephone and vehicular audio system where the cellular telephone is detachable from the audio system and removable from the vehicle. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have an improved cellular telephone and vehicular audio system that incorporates a hand-held cellular telephone that is detachably mounted in the interior of a vehicle.
Further, it would be advantageous to have a cellular telephone and vehicular audio system that integrates a cellular telephone with a vehicular audio system to share components, to eliminate duplication, to reduce costs and diminish the complexity of the overall system.